Susan Boyle leaves clinic, eyes U.S. success

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

LONDON (Reuters) - Susan Boyle, who became a global star after appearing on a British television talent contest, has left the London clinic where she was being treated for exhaustion, her brother said on Friday.

The 48-year-old amateur singer from Scotland, whose performance on “Britain’s Got Talent” in April was downloaded nearly 200 million times on the Internet, was admitted to the Priory clinic on Sunday amid concerns for her mental health.

“She’s much happier,” her brother Gerry told GMTV.

“She seems a lot more like herself. I think things are becoming clearer now and she’s much more content. I believe she’s in the middle of London, in a flat in London.”

Dowdy and unglamorous, the unemployed church volunteer challenged viewers’ notion of what a star should be.

Boyle was thrust into the media limelight with camera crews camping outside her home and Larry King and Oprah Winfrey inviting her to appear on their U.S. chat shows.

But as Saturday’s final of the popular talent show approached, Boyle, who was starved of oxygen at birth leading to minor brain damage, began to show signs of strain, bursting into tears regularly and threatening to leave the show.

A general view shows The Priory Hospital in north London, June 1, 2009. REUTERS/Stephen Hird

When she failed to win the final, despite overwhelming odds in her favor, she was admitted to the private clinic suffering from emotional exhaustion.

Boyle’s financial future is seen as secure despite coming second to dance troupe Diversity, as Britain’s Got Talent creator Simon Cowell and his Syco music label are expected to sign her up for an album.

There has also been talk of a Hollywood movie.

Slideshow (4 Images)

“The way forward now is to talk about where her career goes from here,” Boyle’s brother said.

“She’s absorbing the fact that America has a huge appetite for her and she’s now beginning to believe that yes, indeed, I will be a singer and there will be a recording career beyond it. It’s all she ever wanted to do.”

He backed Cowell to manage Boyle’s recording career.

“Simon Cowell — he’s been around the dance floor a few times hasn’t he? I’m sure that he knows that he’s got someone who has broken down the barriers in America before she even gets there and I’m sure Simon will do a good job for her.”

Boyle’s brother also confirmed reports that Boyle was expecting to perform in front of U.S. President Barack Obama.